About Sweden

    Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Its capital city is Stockholm.

    At 449,964 km² (173,720 square miles), Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe. Sweden has a low population density except in its metropolitan areas; 84% of the population lives in urban areas, which take up only 1.3% of the total land area. The citizens enjoy a high standard of living and the country is generally perceived as modern and liberal, with an organizational and corporate culture that is non-hierarchical and collectivist compared to its Anglo-Saxon counterparts. Nature conservation, environmental protection and energy efficiency are generally prioritized in policy making and embraced by the general public in Sweden.

    Sweden has a long tradition as a major exporter of iron, copper and timber. Improved transportation and communication allowed more remote natural assets to be utilized on a larger scale, most notably timber and iron ore. In the 1890s, universal schooling and industrialization enabled the country to develop a successful manufacturing industry and by the twentieth century, Sweden emerged as a welfare state, consistently achieving a high position among the top-ranking countries in the UN Human Development Index (HDI). Sweden has a rich supply of water power, but lacks significant oil and coal deposits.

     in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Modern Sweden emerged out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav VasaSwedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century. In the early 19th century Finland and the remaining territories outside the Scandinavian peninsula were lost. After its last war in 1814, Sweden entered into a personal union with Norway which lasted until 1905. Since 1814, Sweden has been at peace, adopting a non-aligned foreign policy in peacetime and neutrality in wartime.

About Kiruna

      Kiruna is a city in northernmost Sweden with roughly 19,000 inhabitants; and 23,235 in the Kiruna Municipality.

     The name Kiruna comes from the Sami language Giron and means ptarmigan, a white bird native to northern areas. This bird is also depicted on the city arms, together with the sign for Iron. Iron symbolizes the mining industry which has been of great importance for the town.

     Kiruna became a Swedish city in 1948, and was at one time listed as the largest city in the world by area, but after the Swedish municipality reform in the 1970s, the term "city" has been discontinued. Kiruna is today the second largest municipality in the world by area, 19447 km² after Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia, 42 904 km².

     The local mountain, Kebnekaise, is Sweden's highest mountain at 2,117 metres above sea level. There are more than 6,000 lakes in Kiruna municipality, Torneträsk Lake being the largest. Seven rivers run through the municipality, named Kalix River, Torne River, Lainio River, Rautas River and Vittangi River, as well as the Könkämä River and Muonio River which mark the border to Finland. The untouched geography has also been noted with the establishment of Abisko National Park, by the Norwegian border, established as early as 1909.

     Being located 145 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, Kiruna has perpetual daylight, the midnight sun, approximately from 30 May to 15 July. The polar night is a few weeks shorter, lasting December 13 – January 5.

     Transportations are reliable by road (European route E10), rail and air via Kiruna Airport.

     In the village of Jukkasjärvi there is an Ice hotel, a proper hotel wholly built of ice, and reconstructed every year.

    The church in Kiruna from 1912 is also notable, one of Sweden's largest wooden buildings. The church exterior is built in an Neo Gothic style, while the altar is in Art Nouveau. It has separately been voted Sweden's best looking church and the foremost Swedish pre-1950 construction.